Guitar Lovers

When I was young I always wanted to play guitar but my parents said it cost too much money, so I just let it go and went in the back yard to play a neighborhood baseball game. Back then we did not have the resources such as the Internet, video, DVD, etc. Now with these resources, free guitar lessons can be found and you can use them on a regular basis and practice on your own. Free guitar lessons are usually  taught by professionals, and they’ll cost you hundreds of dollars less than live lessons and you don’ have to leave the house to get them.
With our busy lives; jobs, school, kids, friends, sports and hobbies, if you were to schedule a live guitar lesson and then canceled it because something came up, the teacher would be annoyed and would probably charge you the full amount. If you take free guitar lessons instead, you don’t have to worry about the instructors and charges because you didn’t show up. You can take a lesson when it works for your schedule, and it won’t cost a thing. You could actually take a lesson while on vacation or out of town for other reasons.
Another problem with taking a guitar lessons is that you don’t have time to practice for the lesson and the teacher won’t be happy and you will cost you again for the same lesson because you didn’t practice what you were taught. But you take guitar lessons online, there is no one to say anything to you and you can go at your own pace. You can also take any lesson you want for no cost.
A lesson without a live teacher allows you to move as slowly or as quickly as you want. With these guitar lessons, there is not a teacher to dictate what you will learn that day. If you’re catching on quickly, you can skip lesson, and if you’re having a hard time you can go at your own pace, take a break between lessons or even take a week or month off until your want to get back into it again.
One of bad things of taking free guitar lessons is that if you have a question you may feel like you don’t know who to ask. However, you could go to a local establishment to hear a band, most the time for free, and talk to the guitar players after the show. Once they know your questions, most of the time they would be happy to help you out, because they will there at one point also. You can also go to a guitar player’s forum for similar questions or post a question of your own. Guitar players are generally a close group of people and they will treat you as part of there family.

For those of us who don’t know a lot about music, shopping for the musician on your holiday gift list can be a difficult task.  Here are a few ideas sure to please an up and coming rock star or music enthusiast:

• Guitar Amps – most guitarists who are just starting out won’t own an amp, and several who have been playing for a long time will have an older or decrepit model due to their more expensive price tag.
• Music Sheets – designed for whatever instrument your musician plays, finding instrumentals for their favorite music is sure to be a hit this holiday season.
• IPod – great for inspiration, and for listening to their own music while the other parts of life beckon their attention.
• Microphone – having vocal as well as instrumental talent is important for getting noticed early in your career; a microphone is sure to get your musician motivated on improving their vocals and their talent as a whole.

By Shawn M. Tomlinson

There are three main types of guitars: the classical, the acoustic and the electric. Inside these groups are subsets and hybrids that have specific uses. The use depends on the type of music to be produced. These are some of the general types.

Types

The classical guitar generally uses nylon strings. The classical, or Spanish guitar, is the eldest of the guitar family. It consists of a hollow body and a neck without a truss rod. Nylon strings are used mostly in classical guitars these days because they give a softer sound. It isn’t a good idea to put steel strings on this kind of guitar because the neck isn’t designed to take that kind of force. Most often, this kind of guitar is finger-picked rather than with a plastic or steel pick.

Identification

This is a dobro-style guitar. The acoustic guitar and classical guitar are very similar. Both are referred to at times as acoustic guitars. They both produce sound without requiring amplifiers. Most acoustic guitars are big with bold sound. They are built in the “dreadnought” style perfected by C.F. Martin Guitar Co. in 1916. Martin also was the first guitar maker to use the X-bar bracing design under the top of the guitar. This made guitars stronger and allowed the use of steel strings.

My uncle taught gave me my first guitar lesson at age 7, and many of the tips he shared back then have continued to stick with me. It turned out that while we both have musical tendencies in our blood, we don’t learn in the same way or at a comparable pace. He has an impressive ear for notes and melodies and is able to replicate most songs after hearing them just a few times. I’m not like that at all.

Maybe it’s because of my classical piano training, but I need to be able to see notes in front of me. Playing by ear just doesn’t work until I’ve got a song down cold. That’s why a guitar tuner is so essential to my playing. It would take me far too long to tune the guitar during a performance without some aid. Perhaps some day I’ll develop a better ear, but until then I’ll have to rely on technology.

As a young child, I grew up listening to some of my parents’ old records. They had a full complement of Beatles music and some stuff by The Beach Boys. But I wasn’t immediately drawn to the Fab Four’s pop craftsmanship or the sunny surfing anthems coming out of California. Instead I turned to the monster guitar riffs supplied by The Rolling Stones and The Who.

My musical tastes evolved as I got older, of course, but the electric guitar is still my favorite instrument. The versatility of an electric ax is impressive as well. It can be utilized for jazz noodling sessions and Delta blues licks alike. When I pull out an electric guitar, I like to emulate my childhood gods by unleashing a monster solo. Guitar music transports us to another place and time; for that, I will always owe the electric guitar my allegiance.

Last year, a guitarist named Dave Carroll was travelling across the country with his band. He was waiting for his flight to leave Chicago when he notices the baggage handlers throwing guitar cases to each other – his band’s guitar cases! Upon arriving in Nebraska, he discovered that his Taylor guitar had been smashed. United Airlines did nothing to help Carroll, despite his repeated requests and complaints. So he recently wrote and performed a song called “United Breaks Guitars,” which got more than 3 million views in its first 10 days on YouTube.

United Airlines has probably learned its lesson after the whole world knows that its employees broke someone’s guitar. But the point of this story is that not everyone will handle your guitar as carefully and lovingly as you do, so you should invest in a good guitar case. Even though Carroll’s case didn’t prevent his guitar from being ruined, his situation was the exception – few people would actually throw someone’s guitar like that. In general, a good guitar case will prevent damage to your guitar. Don’t leave home without one!

Traditionally, heavy metal bands play a step or two down from standard tuning. Though some may dismiss metal as a bunch of noise, listening to a band like Slayer, early Metallica or even newer bands like The Bled or Killswitch Engage will let you know that these guys can play as well as any bona fide blues guitarist.

The major chords are typically E or D (the latter being the most popular), but it really depends on your own personal tinkering. Personally, I like to alternate between standard (EADGBE) and D-standard when I’m playing on stage and I can do this with ease with a guitar tuner.

Tuning that is catching on, however, is BF#BEG#C#. It’s great for thrash, but if you’re looking for something on the technical side, I highly recommend standard or D-standard.

If this is your last summer before you venture off for college, you might be concerned about what college life is going to bring. Whether you’re in the dorms or you’re going to rent an apartment, life is about to change quite a bit, and it’s natural to worry about that change. The biggest concern among incoming college freshmen is that they won’t find any new friends or that they won’t be popular. But being a popular college freshman isn’t rocket science. It just takes some of the following pointers.

The biggest mistake new freshmen make is not being outgoing or confident. Nobody knows you at college, so you have to make the effort. Introduce yourself to a lot of people, and get them involved in fun activities. Whether you take the initiative to organize a dorm Frisbee game or you teach somebody on your floor the acoustic guitar, just remember to be friendly and involved. The more people you meet, the more likely you are to find people that share your interests. Your high school reputation doesn’t follow you to college, so you’re free to become the person you want to be.

Many people who are interested in music gravitate towards the electric guitar. Especially if you’re interested in learning music with a bit more of an edge to it, it’s a fantastic place to start with your musical training. Whether you’re teaching yourself or you’re turning to a professional tutor for help, there are some amazing and iconic songs available for new or established lovers of electric guitars.

If you want to learn songs that feature the electric guitar, try learning the main riff of “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes. Or perhaps you’re more interested in Weezer songs, in which case you should learn “Say It Ain’t So.” And if you want to take your guitar lessons to earlier works, tackle “Foxy Lady” by Jimi Hendrix or “Layla” by . Whatever song you learn, don’t forget that there are numerous online videos with step by step tutorials, so if you ever get stuck, you can probably find a video to help you along.